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Long Beach man arrested on gun, kidnapping and burglary charges

Suspect Lachance Bryant apprehended by police after chase

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A Long Beach man was arrested on felony gun, kidnapping and burglary charges early Christmas morning after he broke into a woman’s home and held a loaded gun to her head, police said.

The suspect, Lachance Bryant, led police on a chase near the Long Island Rail Road station after they responded to a call in the North Park neighborhood and saw him fleeing the scene. Two officers were injured when they tried to apprehend Bryant at Park Place and West Park Avenue. When they caught him, police said, he was in possession of two handguns.

“Early Christmas morning, the Long Beach Police Department received a disturbance call reportedly involving firearms,” said LBPD spokesman Lt. Mark Stark. “… Bryant was apprehended after a brief foot chase and found to be in possession of firearms.”

People with knowledge of the incident told the Herald that Bryant had entered a home in North Park and menaced a relative before police arrived on the scene.

He was charged with two counts of first-degree burglary with a deadly weapon, second-degree kidnapping, four counts of first-degree criminal use of a firearm, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and second-degree menacing.

Stark declined to offer more details about the incident, citing the ongoing investigation. He added that the two officers were treated for their injuries and released. The district attorney’s office is also investigating, and a spokesman declined to comment.

Bryant — who was also injured — was arraigned on Dec. 26 at a local hospital before District Court Judge Joseph Girardi. The arraignment was completed in First District Court in Hempstead on Dec. 29, where bail was set at $1 million bond or $500,000 cash. Bryant’s next appearance in court was scheduled for Jan. 11.

This was not his first run-in with police. In 2015, he was arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting near Long Beach Cinema 4. Bryant allegedly shot a man in the chest with a shotgun containing birdshot on East Chester Street, near the movie theater’s parking lot at the corner of Park Avenue and Long Beach Road. The shooting occurred as two Long Beach Fire Department engines were returning from a call on East Fulton Street, and as they headed south on Long Beach Road, the victim — who survived the attack — stumbled onto the roadway.

A spokesman for the district attorney’s office declined to comment on the outcome of that case, saying that it was sealed. A person with knowledge of the case told the Herald that a grand jury declined to indict Bryant following testimony from him and a witness.

In 2004, the Herald reported that Bryant had been charged with second-degree attempted murder and other offenses after he allegedly shot a man in the back and buttocks on East Penn Street. State records show that Bryant was convicted of attempted assault in 2005, and served five years in prison.